They Lived
by Amouse16
Summary: The lives of the \"gang\" are revealed through fairy tales to their kids. CC (is better than it sounds, I suck at summaries)
1. They Lived

The little boy crawled onto his mothers lap and looked at her plaintively with his soulful brown eyes. "Tell me a story, Mawma."

She smiled down at him and laughed slightly. She never could resist him. Especially when he gave her his half smile and said her name with all the maturity a 4 year old could muster. "What story would you like to hear?" She asked, smiling at her son.

He pondered this seriously for a moment. "I want you to make up a story." 

This took her by surprise. He usually liked Humpty Dumpty or The Three Little Pigs. Her stories never kept his attention. "Ok," She said, slowly, racking her brain for a story. One finally came to her and she paused, unsure if the little man on her lap was ready for it. She shrugged and started it. 

"Once upon a time there was a little boy with the most beautiful brown eyes you will ever see." 

"Like mine!" He cried, already caught up in the story.

"Yes," the loving mother cooed, holding up close on her lap. "The boy was just like you." He put his thumb in her mouth and she continued. "He loved a little girl with long brown hair who always had her nose in a book. He watched her for years. This little boy had a secret. He shared it with his sister and best friend, but never with the little girl. He wanted too, though. They never talked, yet the boy knew the girl would understand the secret and the pain it caused him.

"Time passed and they both grew up. The girl worked at a restaurant her family owned and write in a diary every day. She was friends with a girl with golden hair and a tall, lanky boy who wrote love songs. And still the boy watched her. His sister was breath taking, but cold, his best friend was angry and afraid. The boy was very alone and watched the girl even more than before. He had never been more alone and he wished he could talk to her.

"One day at work the girl was shot."

"Oh no!" her son cried, pulling her to reality.

"Don't worry." She told him, "Listen to the story. The girl was shot. But lucky for her the boy was there. She fell to the floor and when no one was looking he placed his stomach and healed her. Suddenly the blood stopped and her skin closed up instantly. She was so startled she didn't understand what had happened and he had left before she could think or even say thank you. She went on with her day as if nothing had happened.

"But as she thought about it, she realized he had risked his life to save hers."

"Why?" Such a simple question. The answer was simple, too. Why had it been so confusing?

"Because" Her voice was chocked, as if she was holding back tears. "He loved her too much to let her die, even if that meant risking his own life. Anyway, back to the story. He didn't know it, but when he healed her he let a little bit of himself flow into her. It was then that she realized she loved him, too. He tried to discourage her; it was dangerous for them to be together. But she was part of him, and he was part of her. No matter how they tried to fight it, they couldn't. 

"They went on a lot of adventures with their friends. Even when everything was scary and bad they had fun. It was exciting. The girl wrote about all the adventures in her journal and they all laughed when she reminded them about stories from years ago. They had sad times, too. And they cried. But they still stayed strong and stayed together." She paused, "At least 5 of the 6 stayed together.

"And they were afraid some and happy some. They cried, but they laughed, too."

"Did they live happily ever after, Mawma?"

She looked at him, startled, "I don't know, honey." What could she say? Yes? But that wasn't true. But she couldn't say no either, that would be a lie. Before she could say more he simply nodded and jumped off her lap, eager to get on with the next game or activity. She watched him go. "I guess the important thing is that they lived."


	2. Star Princess

"We're learning fairy tales at school Unknown User Normal Unknown User 2 3 2001-10-29T17:47:00Z 2001-10-29T17:47:00Z 2 686 3914 DellComputerCorporation 32 7 4806 9.3821 0 

"We're learning fairy tales at school." The quiet boy told his father one morning over breakfast.

"Really? What fairy tales have you read?"

The boy regarded him seriously, "Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella…And we're writing one today."

'That sounds like fun."

The boy shook his head, "No! I don't want to write a story. They're hard."

"Not so hard." His father mused, "It's almost like writing songs." His son had taken to music and song writing just like he had. A trait that made him beam with pleasure and that made his wife roll her eyes good naturedly.

"Maybe," his son conceded, "But you're still lucky you don't have to write one."

"True. How about I make up one right now? Just to show you it can be fun?"

"All right."

"Let me think, what would make a good story?" The father ran his hands through his short brown hair and rolled his eyes heavenward, looking for divine inspiration. "I know! Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in the stars."

"In the stars?" 

Skeptical, like his mother. Not a romantic like him. "Yes. Her brother was the King- he was brave and wise and she was married to a warrior who was his brothers best friend. She was beautiful, hair of gold- which she wore lots of, and eyes of chocolate- which she liked to eat. She was brave, too and strong. She was loved by all. She could make you fall in love with her so easily.

"She wasn't happy though. She didn't love her husband."

"Then why did she marry him?" The little boy asked.

"Because her brother asked her too, and she loved and admired her brother so much, she couldn't bear to say no. So she was married, even though she didn't love the warrior."

"Poor princess."

"Yes, but she did fall in love, with a man who hated her brother. She tried to tell him that her brother was kind and good and gentle, but he didn't believe her. He was jealous of her brother's quiet power.

"She made a mistake. She told him some of her brother's secrets because he asked her to, because he told her he loved her. She loved him so much she did. And then there was a war and she, her brother, and the warrior died."

"Oh, no!" His son cried, trying not to show how devastated he was by the sudden change in the story.

"Oh, don't worry, it turns out all right! Her mother found them and brought them back to the castle, she took their souls and sent them to Earth and put them in new bodies for them to try again."

"Did it work?"

"I'm getting to that part. In their home in the stars, they were like everybody else, but on Earth they were different, special. They had secrets. She shared her secrets only with her brother and her brother's best friend who she loved very, very much.

"One day her brother told all their secrets to a young girl with brown hair who he loved. At first, she was very angry. She felt betrayed by her own brother. They had sworn never to tell the secrets and he did."

"What did she do?"

"At first she was afraid and wanted to run away. But then she got to know the girl with brown hair that her brother was in love with. And met her best friend, a girl with blond hair and her other friend a boy who had loved her secretly for years. Even though she was afraid, she learned to trust them and grew to love them." He smiled secretly, "Especially the boy. And even though the girl, her brother and their best friend were afraid to fall in love with the boy, the brown haired girl and the blond haired girl, they couldn't help it. They gave up their dreams of the stars and lived happily on Earth."

"Is that all?" The son asked, sounding wistful.

"No. Not nearly. There were some bad times, her brother died fighting, she cried for him. She still does from time to time. But she's so happy. She got everything she ever dreamed, and more besides. She lived the fairy tale life and—"

"And is far happier than she deserves to be…Or ever imagined she could be." The woman announced, arriving unseen from the kitchen. She ruffled her sons hair, "Won't the school bus be coming soon?"

"Yes." The boy said reluctantly, "I'll go get my book bag."

The woman leaned down and smiled at him, "Have fun at school today," she told him, as he walked out front to meet the school bus, "And good luck with the fairy tale."

"That'll be OK." He assured her, "Daddy gave me some ideas."

"Well," She said with a grin, "That wasn't a real fairy tale."

"It wasn't?"

"No." She kissed him on the cheek, "Because it's all true."

He giggled and ran out to the bus.

"Why did you tell him that?" Her husband wondered.

"Because," she said, sitting on his lap and kissing him, "He deserves to know there is a woman out there that is far happier than she deserves to be, or ever imagined she could be."


	3. Pixies

A small, strong woman with bright eyes and flowing blond hair tucked her tiny daughter into bed, pulling the Tinkerbell sheets Unknown User Normal Unknown User 2 9 2001-10-29T17:47:00Z 2001-10-29T17:47:00Z 2 739 4216 DellComputerCorporation 35 8 5177 9.3821 0 

A small, strong woman with bright eyes and flowing blond hair tucked her tiny daughter into bed, pulling the Tinkerbell sheets up to her neck, and tucking them under her feet, so she wouldn't get cold. She hummed softly, in a way that she knew had a calming affect on her daughter, and that was usually all she could do to calm her down at bedtime.

"Story?" The baby girl whispered.

"Yes, story. But just one! Then you have to go to sleep."

The girl stuck her bottom lip out in a practiced way, it made her father crumble, but didn't work on her mother, who had once perfected pouting as well. _Like mother, like daughter_ she thought, pleased that she could see herself in another human being. She stroked the child's hair. Not quite blond like her mother, or brown like her father, but a coffee color that looked perfect with the green eyes flecked with brown that held such emotion. "Story." Her daughter insisted.

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm trying to think of a story." Her inspiration for her songs came from late night bedtime stories, so her daughter always had to wait while she sorted out a story in her mind. When nothing came up, she resorted to opening her mouth and letting the sound come. Talk first, think later- isn't that what she did through high school? "Once upon a time…" 

This surprised her daughter, the stories were usually more dramatic and _never_ started with _once upon a time._

"There was a young man who was different from everyone else on Earth. He had…He had the most wonderful deep brown eyes that carried around such pain. He didn't know it, but there was a little blond pixie who watched him."

"Like Tinkerbell?" The toddler asked, reverently, for she ate, drank and breathed Tinkerbell.

The woman laughed, "Well, he thought so. Her best friend used to call her a pixie and bought her short green dresses when she cut her hair short. Anyway, this young man was special. He had a secret that he shared only with his two best friends that were kinda like a brother and sister to him. He loved them, but just between you and me, I think he loved the little pixie more than either one of them. She loved him more than anything, maybe even more than her two best friends- a girl with long brown hair who mooned over her soulmate and a boy with brown hair who warmed the heart of an ice queen."

"A real live Ice Queen?"

She laughed, "It's an expression, honey. Anyway, this boy was special, he was from some place very, very far away and he never felt like he belonged in the small town where he grew up, because it held no joy for him. His whole entire life he dreamed of leaving, of going someplace else. And even though he had no memories of this other place he knew it was his home and he was certain that if he went to the other place he would understand how to love and he would be happy. 

"The pixie girl loved him and feared that he would one day find a way to this other place he called home and leave her behind forever. Even though it was wrong she prayed he would never find a way to leave her, because if he did, she feared her heart would stop beating."

"Can your heart stop beating?" Her daughter wondered.

"No, but the pixie thought so. At that point, it seemed anything was possible. One day her worst fear became true- he had found a way home. He had discovered a way to leave, to go back to his home and he told her he was going to leave forever. Even though he loved her, he believed there was someone out there that could love him better than she could. She knew this wasn't true, but said nothing except good bye."

A tear ran down the baby's cheek, sensitive just like her mother.

"He was to leave forever in 3 minutes, he was to go and never ever look back. There would be no need to. But as the seconds were counted down he thought of the pixie. Of the way her hair moved when she twirled, the way her skin shone in the sun, the way she sang, the way she laughed…And he realized all the love he was looking for was in her. And _she _was his home. And as long as he had her, he didn't need to wish for a better place, for love. He had it. So he left and went to her and told her he loved her until he was hoarse."

The girl's eyes dropped down with pleasure and exhaustion, but she asked, "And was it what he dreamed of? Was he happy?"

There was a soft rapping at the door that broke through the peaceful reverie of the room. "I wanted to say good night," The man explained.

"Papa! Mommy was just finishing her story."

He sat down on the bed and said in his gruff voice, "Well, she can finish." His eyes sparkled.

"My question!" The girl insisted, "Answer it please, was he happy?"

"You'll have to ask him." Her mother said softly, glancing at the man next to her, "But if I had to guess…I would say ever dream he ever had became true, every prayer was answered and he was given more blessings than he could have hoped for. And even though life wasn't perfect—"

"Because no life is." The man interrupted.

"Right, even though there were hard times, he knew he made the right choice."

"The end?" The girl asked.

"No."


	4. Epilogue

"Please stop crying Unknown User Normal Unknown User 2 4 2001-10-29T17:47:00Z 2001-10-29T17:47:00Z 2 536 3060 DellComputerCorporation 25 6 3757 9.3821 0 

"Please stop crying!" The harried teenager begged the crying twins. "Please stop!" He picked out up and rubbed his back, carried him around the room and smoothed the baby's black hair until his loud cries settled down to quiet whimpers. He picked up the second twin, a blond girl, and followed suit until she, too stopped crying. He hated being the oldest child, that made him the unofficial baby sitter at the so-called family re-unions, where as far as he could tell, no one was actually family.

He settled the twins on large pillows and had only just finished when he was called to by the other kids to help sound out a word, or find a certain puzzle piece by the other kids that flooded the spacious living room. "Please settle down!" He begged to no avail, he seemed to be the only voice of responsibility a trait he got from his mother, along with brown hair. There were other teenagers, but they were playing poker in the study, begging off from babysitting and he was the oldest... 

"I'll tell you a story!" He said desperately, "Come sit with me and the twins in a circle and I'll tell you a story!" They loudly and clumsily gathered in a circle around him, looking at him with wide-eyes innocence. With his back to the kitchen he had no idea that the parents heard his desperate bargain.

When everyone was quiet he took a deep breath, not entirely sure what he was going to say, but he figured he couldn't go wrong with a classic, "Once upon a time…" He had heard different stories that started with _once upon a time _by the various members of the unique family, but they all seemed to include the same people, a brown haired girl that worked in her parents restaurant and wrote in a diary, who captured the heart of a lonesome young boy with expressive, soulful brown eyes and a quiet grace, his sister a blond beauty who was cold, but loved very deeply, their friend, a scared boy with brown hair who was angry but fell in love with a pixie who sang and had long blond curls and befriended a strange little boy with brown hair who played the guitar and wrote love songs about a princess. 

He told the children, who were still too young to have pieced all the stories together, to figure out that perhaps there was truth hidden underneath all the pretty details and _happily ever after_s, a story about 6 teenagers who were afraid and confused and in love. He spoke of longing and betrayal, of hope and fear, of anger at themselves and those around them, unaware that the adults were listening the entire time.

Isabel put her arm around Liz's shoulders and Maria snaked her arm around her best friend's waist. Alex leaned down slightly, resting his head against Isabel's and Michael held tightly to Maria's hand. "You did good with him." Isabel said at last.

"_We_ did good." Liz corrected, who could really tell which child belonged to who? They all seemed to sort of blend together as one family. 

"He sorta reminds me of Max." Michael said, knowing Isabel and Liz must be thinking of their Max.

Liz surprised him by laughing quietly, "That's what I was going for."

The 5 friends listened to Liz's son (but still an Evan's by name and right) talk about their lives. He had hit the mark a little better than they would have liked, but it was still sugar coated with the fairy tale passion the adults had sprinkled over the stories of their lives.

He finished the story and the children erupted, once more flying about to play and torment.

"I was thinking," Maria said.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Alex teased.

"Shut up, Alex!" Maria cried, glaring at him. Michael squeezed her hand and she calmed down and said, "I was thinking _happily ever after_ couldn't beat this."

-THE END-


End file.
